Left wing Jesper Bratt tallied his second career hat trick to power the New Jersey Devils to a 6-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday, Nov. 14 — once again proving that he's one of the best offensive wingers in the National Hockey League.
Bratt’s first of the night which came when he took his time and sniped All-Star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky from the right circle with less than two seconds left in the period. Bratt produced his second on Thursday following a turnover 3:50 into the third and then complete his hat-trick shorthanded with another unassisted goal, this time into an empty net, with 5:12 left in game. But aside from pulling off a hat trick against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion, what else makes Bratt so skilled?
"I try to do everything I can every single shift to do my part for the game," Bratt said postgame on Nov. 14th. "Whatever it is, being good in the d-zone, neutral zone or scoring goals, I just try and find my way of contributing to the team"
Bratt was selected by the Devils in the sixth round (No. 162) of the 2016 NHL Draft after he scored four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games for Sweden at that year's Under-18 5-Nations Tournament. After signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Devils on May 13, 2017, he became the lowest-drafted teenager to play in the NHL since 1995-96.
He scored his first NHL goal in his debut against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 7, 2017. Then, he scored two more goals in his second game at the Buffalo Sabres just two days later. He finished his rookie season with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 74 games.
Switching gears back to the present, on the surface and after his brilliant game against the Panthers, Bratt has put up eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points so far this campaign. Of those 21 points, 13 were at even strength, and 10 were from power-play situations. The Sweden native has put up 59 shots on net, averaging over 18 minutes per game. From this alone, it's obvious to conclude that Bratt plays a lot, shoots quite a bit (59 in 20 games, meaning he averages 2.95 shots per game), and gets on the scoresheet.
But once one digs a little deeper, Bratt only becomes even more impressive.
As evident by his 10 power-play points, the 5'10 player obviously also makes an impact on the power play. He's on the primary unit and has fantastic offensive rates in power-play situations. With over three minutes per game on man-advantage situations, the Devils have generated attempts at a rate close to 130 per 60 minutes, shots over 70 per 60 minutes, expected goals over 10 per 60 minutes, and actual goals over 12 per 60 minutes.
In other words, Bratt is a part of the main power play unit generally doing great work out there. Bratt is not just hanging out in a circle waiting for a pass. He is helping that motion function rather well.
As far as penalty kill work, Bratt has played in over 20 shorthanded minutes for an average over one minute per game; not ot mention he is also used on a secondary unit.
What all of this means is simple — Bratt is an all-situations winger putting up a high rate of points. Which is all the more reason to regard him as one of the league’s best wingers and give him more credit.